Microsoft has quietly released a new beta version of the “Outlook Social Connector”. This new outlook add-in provides connectivity with Linked-In contacts and status and is exposed through everyday tasks like email. Now making a connection on Linked-In is as easy as clicking “add to Linked-In” from an email from the contact. I can’t tell you how big a help this is for general business relationship building. EAC recommends installing the Beta in Outlook 2003, 2007 or 2010 Beta now (tested in 2010 with no issues to date).
Outlook Social Connector (LinkedIn)
Even if you are not interested in installing the update, you need to think about what email address you use for Linked-In. Remember that your email address will be used by your contacts to gather additional information about your business relationship such as your company profile and more. This means that if you don’t use your official business email address within Linked-In, Office Outlook will have no way to make the connection.
Download the Outlook add-in here. Expect connectors for SharePoint, Facebook and Office Live to be available soon.
